Author

Phillip Vance Smith, II

Phillip Vance Smith, II

Phillip Vance Smith, II was convicted of murder, has been serving LWOP for 21 years, and he is a Smart Justice Fellow with the ACLU of North Carolina.

COMMENTARY
a view from outside Central Prison in Raleigh

Prison reform proposal would promote safer prisons and safer communities

By: and - July 17, 2023

The conventional wisdom is that people serving life without parole (LWOP) sentences are incorrigibles undeserving of a second chance. But what if people serving these sentences could earn their way out of prison by showing growth and concrete evidence of rehabilitation? Proposed by incarcerated individuals, the Prison Resources Repurposing Act, or PRRA, offers a solution […]